Suits you, madam! If legs are not your best feature then forget LBDs - LIZ JONES says this New Year there's no sexier party look than a well-cut trouser suit
Suits you, madam! If legs are not your best feature then forget LBDs - LIZ JONES says this New Year there's no sexier party look than a well-cut trouser suit
A New Year's party outfit that doesn't require you to wax your legs, slather yourself in fake tan, bare your wobbly upper arms - or even wear a coat.
Sounds too good to be true? Well, it's not. For the trouser suit is the biggest trend this winter, and the final nail in the coffin of the ubiquitous Little Black Dress.
After almost a decade of very girly frocks, at last here is a garment that makes a woman look powerful as well as sexy.
I've always been a trouser suit kind of girl (I wore two ivory cashmere trouser suits when I got married - one for the day and one for the evening party). As I wore the trousers in my relationship, a frou-frou puffball on my wedding day would have been wildly out of character. Indeed, my suit jackets lasted longer than our union.
Yet the trouser suit has never been as accessible or popular as it is this season. There are a multitude of styles and cuts available on the High Street - some are classic tuxedo trouser suits with shiny lapels and a stripe down the leg; others are embellished with sequins, velvet and other glamorous fabrics for evening.
As well as the gorgeously wearable versions pictured here, H&M have a wonderful fluid ivory tuxedo, for just under £150. Mango and Zara also have very well-cut suits for under £100, and I love the black trouser suit with faux leather lapels at Warehouse for £65.
A few words of warning, though. While trouser suits can be far more stylish than dresses, they can also go horribly wrong.
A well-cut suit will flatter curvier figures - especially the big-busted - but if the jacket is too short it won't conceal a big bottom or wide hips. Many women avoid trouser suits simply because they fear it will make them look unfeminine, but nothing could be sexier than a well-cut suit - preferably with nothing but a glamorous bra underneath.
For the cut to be flattering, the jacket needs to be nipped-in at the waist, streamlined and slimming, rather than boxy or ‘boyfriend', which is far too mannish.
The key is to style it with glam accessories and don't ever mistake an ordinary tweedy trouser suit for acceptable party wear.
The fabric must have a touch of shine, even if just in the lapel or trouser stripe. Bracelet sleeves that reveal your wrists mean the jacket will not swamp you.
Trousers should have a centre not a side-zip: these fail to hold in the tummy and can widen hips.
Don't make the mistake - a la Zara Phillips - of wearing your trousers too long. You'll only look as though you're on casters.
The right length means you can still see your shoe (go for a high-heeled strappy sandal or courts in a vivid colour).
Cropped trousers only work if you are tall and slim. If you're short, a boot-leg cut is the most flattering.
Avoid voluminous, sail-at-full-mast trousers unless you have giraffe-like proportions. Cream and black are the key classic colours. You will wear the tux, either as a suit, or separately, all year long.
And what to wear beneath? I love a suit over nothing but a bra and a statement necklace. If that feels too risque, do at least avoid wearing a white shirt, which feels too work-like.
Fitted black silk shirts or a camisole work, too.
Suits also offer another bonus - you can really go to town with your make-up without looking overdone.
Hair needs to be worn loose, sexy and not too perfect.
Trouser suits are far more seductive than yet another black chiffon floaty number - and wearing one will easily set you apart from a sea of swirling skirts.
A New Year's party outfit that doesn't require you to wax your legs, slather yourself in fake tan, bare your wobbly upper arms - or even wear a coat.
Sounds too good to be true? Well, it's not. For the trouser suit is the biggest trend this winter, and the final nail in the coffin of the ubiquitous Little Black Dress.
After almost a decade of very girly frocks, at last here is a garment that makes a woman look powerful as well as sexy.
LEFT: Blazer, £150, and torusers, £110, frenchconnection.com; draped top, £19.99, hm.com; necklace, £170, stelladot.co.uk; heels, £32, dorothyperkins.co.uk
RIGHT: Pink blazer, £379, and trouser, £279, Schumacher at Fenwick: 020 7629 9161; blouse, £39.99, zara.com; toe-cap courts, £38, asos.com
Yet the trouser suit has never been as accessible or popular as it is this season. There are a multitude of styles and cuts available on the High Street - some are classic tuxedo trouser suits with shiny lapels and a stripe down the leg; others are embellished with sequins, velvet and other glamorous fabrics for evening.
LEFT: Blazer, £55, and trousers, £35, Limited Collection at marksandspencer.com; blouse, £195, Raoul at Fenwick, shoes, £169, reiss.com
RIGHT: Red velvet jacket, £375, and trousers, £150, gerarddarel.com; blouse, £25, newlook.co.uk; necklace, £19.99, zara.com; shoes, £64, dune.co.uk
A few words of warning, though. While trouser suits can be far more stylish than dresses, they can also go horribly wrong.
A well-cut suit will flatter curvier figures - especially the big-busted - but if the jacket is too short it won't conceal a big bottom or wide hips. Many women avoid trouser suits simply because they fear it will make them look unfeminine, but nothing could be sexier than a well-cut suit - preferably with nothing but a glamorous bra underneath.
LEFT: Ozlem sequin leggings, £120, and jacket, £77.50, frenchconnection.com; courts, £149, hobbs.co.uk; top, £39.99, zara.com
RIGHT: Channel your inner Katharine Hepburn with an elegant and sophisticated trouser suit, the sexy party look of choice this New Year
The fabric must have a touch of shine, even if just in the lapel or trouser stripe. Bracelet sleeves that reveal your wrists mean the jacket will not swamp you.
Trousers should have a centre not a side-zip: these fail to hold in the tummy and can widen hips.
Don't make the mistake - a la Zara Phillips - of wearing your trousers too long. You'll only look as though you're on casters.
The right length means you can still see your shoe (go for a high-heeled strappy sandal or courts in a vivid colour).
Cropped trousers only work if you are tall and slim. If you're short, a boot-leg cut is the most flattering.
Avoid voluminous, sail-at-full-mast trousers unless you have giraffe-like proportions. Cream and black are the key classic colours. You will wear the tux, either as a suit, or separately, all year long.
And what to wear beneath? I love a suit over nothing but a bra and a statement necklace. If that feels too risque, do at least avoid wearing a white shirt, which feels too work-like.
Fitted black silk shirts or a camisole work, too.
Suits also offer another bonus - you can really go to town with your make-up without looking overdone.
Hair needs to be worn loose, sexy and not too perfect.
Trouser suits are far more seductive than yet another black chiffon floaty number - and wearing one will easily set you apart from a sea of swirling skirts.
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